An example of a control device which controls the operation of a storage battery or a heat accumulator is described in Patent Document 1. A control device of Patent Document 1 determines an operation schedule of a storage battery or a heat accumulator provided in a smart house based on reference information. Patent Document 1 describes use of time-of-use (TOU) pricing information, power generation information of a power generator, power consumption information of a load device, or the like as the reference information.
In the control device described in Patent Document 1, electric power or heat in the storage battery or the heat accumulator is stored during low power consumption of the load device in the smart house or when the electricity price is low, and electric power is discharged from the storage battery during high power consumption of the load device, thus allowing efficient use of electric power.
Methods for saving power in a vending machine are described in respective documents. For example, when a vending machine of Patent Document 2 performs peak shaving operation based on time periods and time bands performed such as when a predetermined upper limit temperature is reached inside a refrigerator, unless a predetermined condition for cancelling the peak shaving operation is satisfied, operation of a refrigerator temperature adjustment unit is stopped in order to reduce power consumption.
A vending machine of Patent Document 3 reduces power consumption by switching between a power saving mode and a normal mode according to whether or not the sales of commodities in the vending machine have reached a target value.
A vending machine of Patent Document 4 minimizes consumption of power supplied from a commercial power supply by: charging power in a power storage device using nighttime power to which a low late-night electricity price applies; temporarily stopping the operation of a load device (cooling unit or the like) during a peak load in a daytime band; and using power stored in the power storage device.
A vending machine of Patent Document 5 performs power saving by controlling the setting temperature or the operation of a cooling device in response to a peak shifting or peak shaving instruction from a center device.
Patent Document 6 describes a vending machine for cooling or heating the interior of a heat-insulated commodity storage compartment while setting a hot or cold air blowing region in the compartment to the entire region of the compartment during a late-night time band to which a low electric rate applies as determined by an agreement with a power company. At this time, cold heat or hot heat is stored by using contents and containers of beverages in the commodity compartment as a heat storage material using a compartment internal circulation blower fan. In time bands other than the late-night time band, the air blowing region is switched to a partial region, and thermo-operation control of a cooling or heating device is performed. Accordingly, power saving is achieved by suppressing power consumption in a daytime time band, and operation maintenance costs are saved by efficiently using a cheaper late-night electricity price system.